Tag Archives: hot chocolate

Ms. S&C’s holiday wish list continues… Not all of Ms. S&C’s gift items have to be one-of-a-kind vintage-y cocktail ware, or shoes that would break any normal person’s budget. Sometimes, a simple mug of hot chocolate will do just fine.

When Ms. S&C visited Chicago a few months ago, she tried hot chocolate (at Rick Bayless’ XOCO) that changed her life. (You can read about it in one of her Top Chef blog posts).

Now, she is spotting specialty hot chocolate on menus everywhere, including in her own neighborhood. Artfully Chocolate, a funky little chocolate boutique in Del Ray, Alexandria, has quite the hot cocoa menu and mixes. And, they are a perfect accompaniment to their already incredible selection of gourmet truffles — in delectable flavors such as chipotle cinnamon and toasted coconut. The gift box of 4, 6, or 12 pieces is a perfect, perfect gift for your chocolate-lover!

The theme of last week’s Top Chef episode was dynamic duo-ing and deconstruction. Presumably the dynamic duo idea comes from Penn & Teller being there as guest judges. The deconstruction concept comes from the oft misunderstood culinary technique.

Here are a few highlights:

The Quickfire was an “angels vs. demons” duo challenge. The chefs were asked to created two dishes of conflict, i.e. healthy vs. unhealthy, or new vs. old. Robin, who can’t be long for the show, won. Everyone was shocked. Eli, in poor taste, attributed the victory to her playing the cancer survivor card.

Deconstruction was the focus of the Elimination Challenge. The chefs had to “deconstruct,” or separate out all the ingredients, of a classic dish — yet, the newly re-constructed dish should maintain the dish’s original flavor. I think this means that meat lasagna shouldn’t look like meat lasagna, but it should taste like it.

For the drink pairing — Kevin’s fig jam recipe includes strong brewed coffee and hot chocolate. Having tried the most incredible bean-to-cup hot chocolate at Rick Bayless‘ restaurant, XOCO, that’s what I want alongside this dish. I don’t even care that it doesn’t have booze in it. The hot chocolate is that incredible. It is ground from Mexican cacao beans right in the restaurant, and was my surprise favorite on a menu with a lot of great food (try the ahadoga torta also). As you can see from the pic, I drank it with hot-from-the-fryer churros, but I think the bitter sweetness would complement many savory creations as well. Muy delicioso!

About Shoes & Cocktails

The blog dedicated to shoes, cocktails, and things related was created by Ms. ShoesandCocktails, a Washington, DC area resident, who lives with her husband and dog, and is surrounded by friends with good taste and a weakness for cocktails. Ms. S&C would love to hear from you, so feel free to contact her at: shoesandcocktails(at)yahoo(dot)com.

Miss Mojito also joins Ms. S&C as a contributor. Miss M is from Richmond, VA, and lives and breathes for the delightful Cuban cocktail from which she borrows her name.